MIDDLETOWN - Pumpkin seed tortilla chips, Raw Youniverse smoothies, barbecued veggieburgers, Down East Fish Herbs, Hot to Trot Smoked Chicken Seasons and an atmosphere filled with music played by students captured the attention of nearly 200 people on a warm, sunny Saturday at Long Lane Farm.

       They were enjoying the annual harvest festival, held this year on Oct. 25 at the two-acre Long Lane Organic Farm on the corner of Long Lane and Wadsworth Street.

       The student-run organic farm â€�"gives students a place to experiment and learn about sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals: Environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity,” according to Olivia Drake of Wesleyan University.

       About 10 to 12 students spend their summers working from 7 to 11 a.m.,then take a mid-day heat break, and return to work from 3 to 7 p.m. The harvested food is sold at the North End Farmers’ Market during the summer and, during the academic year, at the Wesleyan Farmers’ Market. Middletown’s Amazing Grace Food Pantry benefits from some of the harvest.

       The students also have â€�"an arrangement through which Wesleyan’s Bon Appetít dining services funds positions for students to work on the farm in exchange for weekly deliveries of farm vegetables. In addition, the students invite local families to the farm and teach children about the various aspects of farming and producing food. Children are sent home with a bag of produce that they personally harvested,” said Drake.

       The farm program is run under the auspices of Wesleyan’s College of The Environment and directed by the chair of the department Robert Schumann, Environmental Studies Professor Barry Chernoff, aided by Assistant Professor of Anthropology Gillian Goslinga and Administrative Assistant to the Environmental Studies Program Valerie Marinelli.